Huller gin



T. ELLIOTT sept. 15, 1931.

HULLER GIN Filed March '31, 195o Thmms 'El/fatt WITNESS Mfm ATTO RN EYSPatented Sept. 15, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT orifice` THOMAS ELLIOTT, FBIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, ASSIGN-OR TO CONTINENTAL GIN COMPANY, A CORPORATIONOF DELAWARE HULLER GIN Application filed March 31,

My invention relates to huller gins, of the double or single rib type,and is particularly concerned with novel means for effectively cleaningand separating hulls from seed cot- ,5 ton and also for reclaiming anyseed that become intermingled with the hulls, whether by dropping intothe outer or huller breast in the double rib type of huller gin or bythe discharge of the seed with the hulls separated from the cotton inthe single ribl type of huller gin.

My invention relates to that type of gin in which the entering seedcotton, mixed with hulls and trash, is .delivered by any suitable hullboard means, preferably one comprising a hull board delivering to apicker roll which in turn delivers the cotton and hulls into engagementwith the teeth of the gin saws. In gins of this type 2G the delivery endof the hull board means, which in the construction above described willbe a picker roller, defines the opening with reference to the gin sawcylinder mi through which the hulls must escape and in the case of thedouble rib huller gins the seed which fall back into the breast from theouter huller ribs must also escape through this opening or passagebetween the picker y roll and the gin saws. The practice has been toreduce this opening or clearance as much as possible without causing thegin to choke up by reason of unduly retarding the escape of the hulls,but the larger the opening the greater the tendency is for theescape ofcotton with the hulls, and therefore the practice has been to attempt toregulate the size of this opening empyrically with relation to theparticular material under treat- Y ment so that while allowing asuiiicieiitly free escape of the hulls there wo-uld be a minimum loss ofcotton therewith.

Various means have been provided for reclaiming the cotton escaping withthe hulls in such a construction as has been above de- 5 scribed, and mypresent invention is concerned with the reclaiming of all cotton thatpasses out with the hulls, and it has the important advantage ofpermitting the h ull escape opening past the gin saws to be enlarged sothat no tendency of the hulls to 1930. Serial No. 440,490.

choke up in the gin breast will occur and yet it will prevent the lossof cotton that passes out with the hulls through this enlarged opening.As a result of this I greatly increase the capacity of the gin which islimited by its tendency to choke.

Furthermore, by the rapid removal 0f hulls from the gin breast, I avoidthe tendency of the saws to cut up the hulls and plates interposingbelow the hull boardv means a reclaiming saw cylinder of reduceddiameter as compared with the gin saw cyliiider but preferably having alike direction of .rotation and I associate with these reclaiming saws aguide board, preferably concavo convex in shape and also preferablyprovided with perforations suitable for the escape of seed. This guideboard eX'- tends under the reclaiming saws and rises to a sufficientheight on the side of said reclaiming saws remote from the gin saws soas to cause a slight back pressure of hulls as they overflow itsdischarge edge, this back pressure holding the hulls and trash inposition to be stripped of cotton by the reclaiming saws. Moreover, thisback pressure can be regulated by an adjustment of Y the height of theoverflow edge so as to press the overfiowing mass of hulls against thereclaiming saws in such manner as to complete the reclaiming of cottonfrom the hulls before permitting their overflow and escape.

Vhere the huller gin is of the single rib 9 type all of the seed andhulls pass over the guide board leading to the reclaiming saws and theseed will fall through the perforations in said board and thus separatethemselves effectively from the hulls.

A further important feature of my invention lies in the fact that thereclaiming saws can be driven at a very low peripheral speed, thusacting to prevent a tendency which would result from high peripheralspeed of the teeth on its lip-going side to throw hulls over theoverflow edge of its guide board before they have been cleaned ofcotton.

A further advantage of my invention in its preferred form, lies inthefact that the reclaiming saws, rotating in the same direction as the ginsaws, will act as a positive means to engage and move the hulls escapingfrom the gin breast away from position under the opening between thehull board meansl and the gin saws, thereby insuring against the hullsaccumulating in the gin breast with the disadvantages above pointed out.

A further important advantage of my invention lies in the fact that itis capable of ready application as an attachment to existing hullergins.

My invention further comprises the novel details of construction andarrangements of parts, which in their preferred embodiment areillustrated in the accompanying drawings, which form a partof thisspeciiication and which show in vertical transverse crosssection view ofa conventional type of double rib huller gin with my improved cottonreclaiming attachment. v

As embodied in the drawings, I show a conventional huller gin comprisingthe gin breast 1 having an inclined hull board 2 which delivers ltheseed cotton', hulls, trash, etc.,v entering the gin breast to' a pickerroll 3, forming part of the hull board means which acts to deliver thematerial to be treated into engagement with the teeth of the gin saws 4,which work between outer hulling ribs 5 and inner ginning ribs 6 in theusual manner. IIulls, stripped ,from the seed cotton by the ribs 5 arecarried by the clockwise rotation of the picker roller 3 downwardly pastthe saws 4 and are de- Iivered to the reclaiming mechanism. The hullboard 2 terminates in spacedrelation with the tips of the spikes on thepicker roller 3^, leaving. suflicient clearance for cotton to pass backup from the reclaiming mechanism into the gin breast to be treated againby the gin saws, b ut not leavingsufficient opening to permit anyappreciable amount of cotton, hulls orv the like to pass directly to'the reclaiming mechanism. The passage through which the hulls escapefrom the gin breast between the picker roller 3 and the gin saws 4 islindicated by the numeral 8 and this passage or opening is large enoughto permit a free esca )e of hulls from the gin breast, this escape eingaided by the positive action of the picker roller spikes on the hulls.The hulls and any cotton to be reclaimed therefrom escaping through theopening 8 pass onto `a concavo-convex guide plate 9 which has a freeouter edge forming an overflow lip 10 over which the hulls escape afterbeing cleaned by the acy tion lof the reclaiming saws 11.

The reclaiming saws 11 are materially smaller in diameter than the ginsaws 4 and are preferably driven by any suitable means, not shown, inthe same direction on the gin saws. They will therefore tend to engagethe hulls as they pass onto the guide boaid 9 andlwill drive them aroundunder the saws l1 and towards the overilow lip 10. I-Iere the hulls willaccumulate between the guide board and the reclaiming saws and as theyaccumulate they will create aback pressure or resistance to the actionof thev reclaiming saws as the latter pass through the mass of hulls.This accumulation of the hulls before they overflow serves to holdv themin proper relation to the traveling reclaiming saws 11 to enablethelatter to work through the hulls and to pick up and remove therefromthe cotton that would otherwise escape. This cotton is doifed from thereclaiming saws by the doihng brush 13 which will deliver it to thepicker roller 3 which will carry it upwardly into the 'gin breast andreturn it to the gin saws 4.

A suitable guard 14 is provided for the doiiing brush 13 and anysuitable adjustment means may be providedV for the guide board 9, suchas the eccentric 12, which will act to vary the clearance between theguide `ioard 9 andthe saws 11 and also to vary the height of theoverflow lip l0, thus regulating the resistance of the overflowing massof hulls to the reclaiming saws. To separate` seed from the hulls, Ipreferably provide suitable perforations or apertures, as at 15, in theguide board 9 adapted to permit any seed that fall outwardly from thehuller ribs 5 and enterY the opening 8 to be separated from the hullsand recovered. In the case of single rib huller gins all of the seedwill pass over the guide board 9` and in such case agreater portion ofits surface should probably be provided with apertures 15 for the escapeof the seed.

The guard 14 is extended close enough to the saw cylinder 11 to knockback hulls tending to pass over with this saw cylinder to the doilingbrush 13. It thus servesas a suitable stripping means for the reclaimingsaws.

It is i1 portant to note that the reclaiming saws can be-driven at avery slow peripheral speedV as contrasted with that of the gin saws. Forinstance, I have obtained very satisfactory results where the peripheralspeed'of the reclaimingsaws was about 7% of that of the gin saws. Theadvantage of this slow speed is that the teeth of saw l1 do not travelfast enough up through the mass of hulls to tend to throw them out bycentrifugal force which isc might cause the ejection of hulls beforethey are cleaned of any adhering locks of cotton. lVhen the reclaimingsaw teeth move upwardly slowly through the mass of hulls adjacent to theoverliow lip 10, they gradually force the overflow of hulls, but thehulls remain in position long enough to insure that the teeth willreclaim the cotton therefrom before they are discharged.

In the operation of my invention for the treatment of seed cotton whichis practically free from hulls, due to the large clearance providedbetween the picker roller 3 and the gin saws el, a substantial amount ofcotton will tend to escape through the passage 8 but it will all becaught bv the reclaiming saws il and returned by its dofling brush tothe picker roller 3 and by that roller again returned to the gin sawsand recovered, so that it will not be lost.

lVhcre a large amount of hulls and trash are present in t ie seedcotton, these hulls will be knocked back by the huller ribs from the ginsaws and will be carried out by the action of the picker roller and willpass through the opening 8 onto the guide board 9 and thence intoengagement with the teeth of the reclaiming saws ll which, moving in thesame direction as to that of the falling hulls, will drive them underthe reclaiming saws toward the space between the saws ll and theoverflow edge l0 of the guide board. The hulls will accumulate in thislast mentioned space with the saws 11 working up through them until theybegin to overflow the edge 10 and after this the action will becontinuous, hulls overflowing the lip 10, and seed escaping through theapertures 15 and such cotton as may pass from the ginmng breast with thehulls will be reclaimed by the teeth of the saws 11 dofled by the brush13, and returned by the picker roller 3 to the gin saws 4f.l

rl`he purpose of the adjustment 12 will be obvious for where there arebut few hulls the guide board 9 should be spaced so that the saws 11will be sure to contact with such hulls and. thus will have a betteropportunity to strip of any cotton adhering thereto, but where there isa large amount of hulls and trash the guide beard can be lowered toincrease the clearance and avoid any tendency of the reclaiming saws tobe clicked or to unduly cut up the hulls.

Where I refer to reclaiming saws, I may use the customary saw cylinderor any equivalent means which will serve to engage the cotton and stripit from the hulls.

`While my present invention is applicable to oth er uses than as thereclaiming agency in a huller gin, my present invention is confined tothis particular application.

What I claim is :w-

l. In a huller rib gin, the combination with the gin breast having ginsaws and hull board means for delivering the seed cotton to said saws,of reclaiming saws cisposed below said hull board means and rotatableinthe same direction as the gin saws, means to guide the hulls and cottonescaping between said gin saws and hull board means into engagement withsaid reclaiming saws, means .to-accumulate hulls on the upgoing side ofsaid reclaiming saws in position to be engaged and stripped of cotton bysaid reclaiming saws before being discharged, and. means to deff cottonfrom said reclaiming saws and return it to the gin saws.

2. The combination with a huller rib gin having in its breast gin saws,a hull board, and a picler roller working between said hull board andsaws, of reclaiming saws and dofling means therefor mounted below saidAhull board, and means to cause hulls escaping between the said rollerand gin saws to accumulate in position to be stripped of cotton by theupgoing side of said reclaiming saws. said roller being disposed toreceive the cotton doffed from the reclaiming saws and rcturn same tothe gin breast.

3. The combination with a huller rib gin having in its breast gin saws,a hull board, and a picker roller working between and in spaced relationto said hull board and saws, of reclaiming` saws and dofiing meanstherefor mounted below said hull board, and means to cause hullsescaping between the said roller and gin saws to accumulate on theupgoing side of said reclaiming sai-vs in position tb be stripped ofcotton by said reclaiming saws, said roller being disposed to receivethe cotton doifed from the reclaiming saws and return same to the ginbreast. l

4L. In a huller rib gin, the combination with a gin breast having ginsawsl and a hull board means comprising an inclined hull board and apicker roller coacting with the gms saws, of reclaiming saws disposedbelow said hull board means, means toi guide hulls and cotton fallingbetween said rollY and the gin saws into engagement with said reclaimingsaws, means to cause hulls to accumulate on the upgoing side of saidreclaiming saws in position to be engaged stripped of cotton by saidlatter saws before being discharged, and means to doff cotton freni saidreclaiming saws and deliver it to said picker roller.

5. In a huller rib gin., the combination with a gin breast having ginsaws and a hull bo-ard means comprising an inclined hull board and apicker roller coacting with the gin saws, of reclaiming saws disposedbelow said hull board means, means to guide hulls and cotton fallingbetween said roller and the gin saws into engagement with oneside ofsaid reclaiming saws, means to canse hulls to accumulate on the otherside of said reclaiming saws in position to be engaged and stripped ofcotton by said latter saws before being discharged, and means to deffcotton from said vio reclaiming saws and deliver it tol said pickerroller, said picker roller and reclaiming'saws having the same directionof rotation as the gin saws.

6. In a huller rib gin,vthe combination with a gin breast havinggin-sawsand a hull: boa-rd means comprising an inclined hull board and apicker roller coacting with. the gin saws, of reclaiming saws disposedbelow said hull board means, means to guide hulls and cotton falling`between said roller and the gin saws into engagement with saidreclaiming saws, means to cause hulls to. accumulate on the upgoing sideof said reclaiming saws in position to be engaged and strippedV ofcotton by said latter saws before being discharged, and means to doflcotton from said reclaiming saws and deliver it to said. picker roller,the picker roller being` disposed between the reclaim-ing saws and thegin saws.

7. 'In a huller rib gin, the combination with a gin breast having ginsaws and a hull board means comprising'an inclined hull board and apicker roller coacting with the gin saws, of reclaiming saws disposedbelow said hull board means, means to guide hulls and cotton fallingbetween said roller and the gin saws into engagement with said'reclaiming saws, means to cause hulls to accumulate in position to beengaged and stripped of cotton while being kicked upwardly anddischarged by said reclaimingsaws, and means to doif cotton from saidreclaiming saws and deliverl it to said picker roller, said pickerroller being discharged between the gin saws on one side and the hullboard, the reclaiming sawsl and their dofiing means onthe other side.

8. The combination with the breast and saws of a huller rib gin, ofreclaiming saws, hull guide means adapted: to deliver hulls escapingfrom said ginv breast' under and beyond said reclaiming saws and havingits hull discharge edge raised to cause hulls to accumulate inthe spacebetween it and said reclaiming saws before being discharged, means todoif the reclaiming saws, and means to return the dofled cotton totheginv saws.

9. The combination with. the breast of a huller rib gin,y of reclaimingsaws, hull guide means adapted to deliver hulls escaping from said ginbreast under and beyond said' reclaiming saws and having its hulldischarge coge raised to cause hul'lsto accumulate in the space betweenitl and said reclaiming saws bel fore being discharged, means to doff`the reclaimng saws, and means to return the dotted;

cotton into the gin breast, the reclaiming saws being rotatable sothattheir teeth rise through the accumulated hulls.

lO. The combination with the breast of a huller rib gin, of reclaimingsaws, hull guide means adapted to deliver hulls escaping from said ginbreast under and beyond said reclaiming saws and having its hulldischarge edge raised to cause hulls to accumulate in the space betweenit andv said reclaiming saws before being discharged, means to do-if thereclaiming saws, and means to return the doiied cotton into the ginbreast,y the reclaimescaping hulls and comprising means to collect saidhulls in a space fromv which they gradually` and freely overflow,reclaiming saws disposed to work through the hulls co1- lectedin saidspace and. strip them of cotton before they overflow, and means to doitthe reclaiming saws and return the' doded cotton to the ginbreast.

12. The combination with a huller rib gin having a ginI breast, ginIsaws and hull board means spaced from said saws to provide for n a freeescape of hulls from said breast, of a cotton reclaiming means adaptedto treat the escaping hulls and comprising means to collect said hullsin a space from which they gradually and freely overiiow, reclaimingsaws disposed to work through the hulls collected in said space andstrip them of cotton before they over'ow, and. means to dof-i' thereclaiming saws and return the dolfed cotton to the gin breast, the sawsbeing rotated so as to engage and feed the hulls as they escape from theg-in breast into the bottom of said space.

13.A In a huller rib gin according toclaim lf, the combination with thereclaiming saws, of a stripping' means disposed in advance of themeans-'to dof said saws.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

THOMAS ELLIOTT.

EIC

